Slithering towards extinction: Almost 1 in 5 reptiles are struggling to survive

Feb 14, 2013

Nineteen percent of the world's reptiles are estimated to be threatened with extinction, states a paper published today by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) in conjunction with experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).

The study, printed in the journal of Biological Conservation, is the first of its kind summarising the global conservation status of reptiles. More than 200 world renowned experts assessed the extinction risk of 1,500 randomly selected reptiles from across the globe.

Out of the estimated 19% of reptiles threatened with extinction, 12% classified as Critically Endangered, 41% Endangered and 47% Vulnerable.

Three Critically Endangered species were also highlighted as possibly extinct. One of these, a jungle runner lizard Ameiva vittata, has only ever been recorded in one part of Bolivia. Levels of threat remain particularly high in tropical regions, mainly as a result of habitat conversion for agriculture and logging. With the lizard's habitat virtually destroyed, two recent searches for the species have been unsuccessful.

Dr. Monika Böhm, lead author on the paper: "Reptiles are often associated with extreme habitats and tough environmental conditions, so it is easy to assume that they will be fine in our changing world.

"However, many species are very highly specialised in terms of habitat use and the climatic conditions they require for day to day functioning. This makes them particularly sensitive to environmental changes," Dr. Böhm added.

Extinction risk is not evenly spread throughout this highly diverse group: freshwater turtles are at particularly high risk, mirroring greater levels of threat in freshwater biodiversity around the world. Overall, this study estimated 30% of freshwater reptiles to be close to extinction, which rises to 50% when considering freshwater turtles alone, as they are also affected by national and international trade.

Although threat remains lower in terrestrial reptiles, the often restricted ranges, specific biological and environmental requirements, and low mobility make them particularly susceptible to human pressures. In Haiti, six of the nine species of Anolis lizard included in this study have an elevated risk of extinction, due to extensive deforestation affecting the country.

Collectively referred to as 'reptiles', snakes, lizards, amphisbaenians (also known as worm lizards), crocodiles, and tuataras have had a long and complex evolutionary history, having first appeared on the planet around 300 million years ago. They play a number of vital roles in the proper functioning of the world's ecosystems, as predator as well as prey.

Head of ZSL's Indicators and Assessment Unit, Dr Ben Collen says: "Gaps in knowledge and shortcomings in effective conservation actions need to be addressed to ensure that reptiles continue to thrive around the world. These findings provide a shortcut to allow important conservation decisions to be made as soon as possible and firmly place reptiles on the conservation map,"

"This is a very important step towards assessing the conservation status of reptiles globally," says Philip Bowles, Coordinator of the Snake and Lizard Red List Authority of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. "The findings sound alarm bells about the state of these species and the growing threats that they face globally. Tackling the identified threats, which include habitat loss and harvesting, are key conservation priorities in order to reverse the declines in these reptiles."

The current study provides an indicator to assess conservation success, tracking trends in extinction risk over time and humanity's performance with regard to global biodiversity targets.

ZSL and IUCN will continue to work with collaborating organisations to ensure reptiles are considered in conservation planning alongside more charismatic mammal species.

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User comments : 7

Well, on a good note, since some species handle it better than others in the long term the ecological niches left empty by the extinctions will be filled with species that can deal with pressures of the habitat. evolution will see to that.

Well, on a bad note, although we trust evolution to allow some to handle the pressures and survive, we still cringe at the loss of species and the conditions that may have unnecessarily caused their demise.

The died out species will help anybody here. We are losing precious genetic information, which evolved millions of years. The extinct species may contain various biochemical and biomechanical adaptations, which could help us in solutions of many problems of contemporary medicine and biotechnology. Maybe somewhere in tropical forest the last specimen of frog, which contains the ultimate cancer cure is dying out right now. We are actually losing accumulated information of observable universe in this way.

Well, on a good note, since some species handle it better than others in the long term the ecological niches left empty by the extinctions will be filled with species that can deal with pressures of the habitat. evolution will see to that.

Not only is it not necessarily the case that any other species will be able to well utilize the vacated niche, but new species are created at a very much slower rate than existing species become extinct.

i dont dispute that. i think its terrible all these species have gone extinct and think we should save each and every one that we still can. the time involved for total recovery from evolution may seem like a long time to you and me, but in the age of the earth its really nothing much at all. their have been at least 5 or6 large extinction events in the history of the earth and life has bounced back each time.

i dont dispute that. i think its terrible all these species have gone extinct and think we should save each and every one that we still can. the time involved for total recovery from evolution may seem like a long time to you and me, but in the age of the earth its really nothing much at all. their have been at least 5 or6 large extinction events in the history of the earth and life has bounced back each time.

How often it has happened in the past is immaterial to the present potential effects on the future of mankind.

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